CBC is reporting that Stephen Harper has hired George Bush's press secretary Ari "the Fabulist" Fleischer, as well as a former Clinton lobbyist. "The government believes the Washington lobbyists have contacts the Canadian Embassy doesn't have, and can pitch interviews directly to prominent broadcasters and journalists. 'I think it makes a lot of sense,' Paul Cellucci, a former US ambassador to Canada, told CBC News."

Given that Stephen Harper remains the most pro-Bush leader remaining in the western world, Ari should feel right at home here. And just in case you might have forgotten his great work for the great war criminal 'W' the decider - here's a bit of vintage Ari: